automatically, then rethought. "No. I've got to talk to Matt tonight, and I trust my room is well bugged. Take us somewhere I can have a little privacy."
"How about that beach we saw yesterday?"
Ray grinned. Their visit to the fishing fleet and North Beach had been Mary's first encounter with more water than she could drink. Water, free and playing with beach and sand and wind and sky had enthralled her. Ray suspected the woman was in love. "Do it."
"I'll head for the north end, sir. This mule can take us where these people only dream of going."
Ray settled deep into his seat. That was the problem. These people had dreams, and Second Chance was opening some and threatening others. Ray had known that the moment he set foot on this place it would never be the same. If Matt reconnected them with humanity, all options were possible. But what if he didn't? That was Ray's quandary.
In his present bargaining, should he assume in a few months Matt would be back, grinning from ear to ear and tailed by six boatloads of eager entrepreneurs? Or would a smarter choice be to hold his cards and his technology close until Matt decided it was time and past time to start home-steading? At the moment, holding tight looked best. But the local powers that be were not interested in waiting for someone else to decide their fate.
People like Vicky Sterling didn't get their hands on power by waiting for others to give it. Victoria got what she had by being there first and grabbing all she could. Ray was familiar with people like Vicky. Powerful people had damn near gotten him killed in their last war. This brought Ray up short. Was all this the fearful ruminations of a spooked veteran who just wanted to be a husband and a dad? "What do you think about the last few days?" he asked Mary.
"Some pretty nice folks," Mary answered, then quickly added, "and a few not so nice. Would be fun working with them, living here. Don't get me wrong, Colonel, I appreciate this job, and I'll ramble around the stars as long as you want me, but settling down here sure is attractive. These folks could use some cheap metals. I know Vicky Sterling's type. Worked for her on the asteroid mines. She loves being the only show in town. Thinks she shits gold. I'd love to take a brand-new rod of hot gold and stick it up her ... well, you know."
"I know," Ray smiled.
"Ah, Colonel, you invite anyone back to the Residency for a nightcap?"
"Not that I recall."
"Well, we got a tail."
"Damn! People never change. Lose 'em, Mary."
"Oh, boy," she laughed. They still weren't to the beach road; Refuge was a big city. The turn to the beach was ten blocks away when Mary did a hard right, gunned the mule, and did a series of zigzags that took them across the beach road but kept them parallel to it. Ray hoped she knew what she was doing.
"The sky eyes surveyed this burg and downloaded a city map to my inertial system." Mary answered Ray's unasked question. "Bet I know this town better than most of the folks raised here."
Ray didn't doubt that. They zipped down a street lined with small shops and warehouses. When they ran out of town, Mary' did a quick zig to get them back on the beach road. Ray edged around in his seat; no lights behind. There still weren't any when the road took a slow turn to follow higher ground through tidal marshes. "Boy, did I lose 'em," Mary chortled.
This left Ray wondering which factions they had eluded and what they were up to. He shrugged off the unanswerable.
A gentle breeze came from offshore, laden with smells of salt and damp and coastal grasses. They turned north, off the road and away from the inlet that sheltered the fishing fleet and soon came to the end of the dirt track a hundred meters short of the sand dunes. Ray braced himself, protecting his back as Mary took the rig into a narrow wash, gunning the mule through soft sand. Wheels spun wildly, but kept enough traction to swing them onto the wide stretch of sand between the dunes and the
"How about that beach we saw yesterday?"
Ray grinned. Their visit to the fishing fleet and North Beach had been Mary's first encounter with more water than she could drink. Water, free and playing with beach and sand and wind and sky had enthralled her. Ray suspected the woman was in love. "Do it."
"I'll head for the north end, sir. This mule can take us where these people only dream of going."
Ray settled deep into his seat. That was the problem. These people had dreams, and Second Chance was opening some and threatening others. Ray had known that the moment he set foot on this place it would never be the same. If Matt reconnected them with humanity, all options were possible. But what if he didn't? That was Ray's quandary.
In his present bargaining, should he assume in a few months Matt would be back, grinning from ear to ear and tailed by six boatloads of eager entrepreneurs? Or would a smarter choice be to hold his cards and his technology close until Matt decided it was time and past time to start home-steading? At the moment, holding tight looked best. But the local powers that be were not interested in waiting for someone else to decide their fate.
People like Vicky Sterling didn't get their hands on power by waiting for others to give it. Victoria got what she had by being there first and grabbing all she could. Ray was familiar with people like Vicky. Powerful people had damn near gotten him killed in their last war. This brought Ray up short. Was all this the fearful ruminations of a spooked veteran who just wanted to be a husband and a dad? "What do you think about the last few days?" he asked Mary.
"Some pretty nice folks," Mary answered, then quickly added, "and a few not so nice. Would be fun working with them, living here. Don't get me wrong, Colonel, I appreciate this job, and I'll ramble around the stars as long as you want me, but settling down here sure is attractive. These folks could use some cheap metals. I know Vicky Sterling's type. Worked for her on the asteroid mines. She loves being the only show in town. Thinks she shits gold. I'd love to take a brand-new rod of hot gold and stick it up her ... well, you know."
"I know," Ray smiled.
"Ah, Colonel, you invite anyone back to the Residency for a nightcap?"
"Not that I recall."
"Well, we got a tail."
"Damn! People never change. Lose 'em, Mary."
"Oh, boy," she laughed. They still weren't to the beach road; Refuge was a big city. The turn to the beach was ten blocks away when Mary did a hard right, gunned the mule, and did a series of zigzags that took them across the beach road but kept them parallel to it. Ray hoped she knew what she was doing.
"The sky eyes surveyed this burg and downloaded a city map to my inertial system." Mary answered Ray's unasked question. "Bet I know this town better than most of the folks raised here."
Ray didn't doubt that. They zipped down a street lined with small shops and warehouses. When they ran out of town, Mary' did a quick zig to get them back on the beach road. Ray edged around in his seat; no lights behind. There still weren't any when the road took a slow turn to follow higher ground through tidal marshes. "Boy, did I lose 'em," Mary chortled.
This left Ray wondering which factions they had eluded and what they were up to. He shrugged off the unanswerable.
A gentle breeze came from offshore, laden with smells of salt and damp and coastal grasses. They turned north, off the road and away from the inlet that sheltered the fishing fleet and soon came to the end of the dirt track a hundred meters short of the sand dunes. Ray braced himself, protecting his back as Mary took the rig into a narrow wash, gunning the mule through soft sand. Wheels spun wildly, but kept enough traction to swing them onto the wide stretch of sand between the dunes and the
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